Latch for grain-car doors.



E. W. GRQGAN.

LATCH FOB GRAIN CAR-DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED 050.9. 916.

mm Feb. 26,1918.

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LATCH FOR GRAIN CAR 0003s.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.9. 1916- Patented Feb. 26,1918.

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entrain snares .sn rnnr onnron.

EDWARD W. onoenn, or evens, 'r nxns, nssrenon or one-rooms T0 WILLIAM R.

sroun, or wronrrn FALLS, rnxns.

rarer; non. GRAIN-OAR nouns.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 26, i915.

Application filed December 9, 1M6. Serial No. 136,047.

1 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, EDWARD \V. Gnoonn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Byers, in the county of Clay and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Latches for Grain- (larDoors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to grain car doors and has for its object theprovision of an inexpensive door which may be applied to any grain carand easily locked in either its open or closed position.

()ther incidental objects of the invention will appear as thedescription of the same proceeds and the invention consists in certainnovel features which will be particularly pointed out in the claimsfollowing the detail description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved grain car door, showing the samein its closed position and viewing it from the inside of the car;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the door in its open position;

Fig. 3 is an elevation looking at the outer side of the door;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the bolt and the operatingmembers immediately adjacent the same;

Fig. 5 is a detail transverse section taken in the plane indicated byline 5--5 in Fig. 1, the bolt-controlling lever being in raisedposition;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the pivot mounting for the door;

F ig..7 is a detail section of the same.

The car 1 may be of any preferred or usual construction. Adjacent thedoor opening in the side of the car, I pivotally mount my improved graindoor- 2 which is adapted to swing in a vertical plane upon the pivotbolt3 which is inserted through the side of the car and the corner of thedoor, as clearly shown, the door being provided with an arcuate portion4 concentric with the said pivot bolt so that the door may turn readilyand at the same time fit closely tothe floor of the car when it isextended across the door opening.

The pivot bolt 3 passes centrally through a disk or hanger 30 which issecured rigidly upon the inner side of the wall of the car.

The door is provided with an opening 31 in which the disk 30 fitsclosely but with suliicient freedom to permit the door to turn easilythereon. A washer 32 is fitted upon the bolt against the door and thiswasher is larger than the disk so that it serves to hold the doorthereon. A nut Or other retaining device 83 is fitted on the end of thebolt or pin 3' to prevent separation of the parts and loss of thewasher. This construction prevents grain working in behind the pivotmounting so as to interfere with the free rotation of the door.

The arcuate formation at the pivotal corfrom the car fioor and grainwill not be wedged under the corner of the door when it is being raisedto prevent it being turned 1 to the perpendicular position and looked asintended, to be held in place.

The outer side of the door is smooth and through the door, near thelower edge of the same, is formed an outlet opening 5 havinghorizontally disposed notches 6 at its ends. A supplemental door 7 isslidably mounted upon the inner side of the door 2 and is supported andguided by ways 8 and 9, the upper way 8 consisting of an angle barsecured rigidly to the inner side of the door and having a dependingflange arranged to fit over the upper edge of the door and thereby holdthe same in place, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. The lower way 9consists of a series of spurs or struck-up tongues at the outer edge ofan angle bar 10 secured rigidly to the door 2 at the lower edge of thesame. The supplemental door is provided with a lug or handle 11 which isadapted to enter either slotti so that the door may be moved to fullycover or fully uncover the outlet, or opening 5.

The upper portion of the door 2 is reinforced by the bar 12 which issecured to the inner side of the door and extends longitudinally of thedoor and passes under the angle bar 8, the ends of the bar 12 beingturned up and constructed to be rigidly secured to the door. A brace bar13 is also secured to the door 2 at about the center of the same andextends from the way or bar 8 to the upper edge of the door, the ends ofthis brace bar 13 being constructed with notches 14, as shown mostclearly in Fig. 5. A loop or guide 15 is provided at that end of thedoor 2 remote from the pivot 3 and a' latch or bolt 16 is mounted toextend through tlllS guide or loop and engage a keeper 17 on the side ofthe car. This latch or bolt 16 has a down turned portion 18 at one endwhich is pivoted to the downwardly support the pin 21 and the spring 2%coiled V; notch and released, the spring will at once around the same soas to prevent excessive distortion of the spring and also prevent thepin being drawn through the guide 22 so as to drop therefrom. The lever'20 is so disposed ancl so proportioned that its longer arm may be veryreadily grasped when it is desired to release and open the door. Whenthe free end of the lever rests in the upper notch 14 of the bar 13, thespring 24 will be under some compression sothat i'f'the' lever be liftedfrom its engagement with said expand and force the latch into completeengagement with the keeper 17 and cause the lever to swing downwardly.Nhen the lever is in its lowermost position, it may be engaged in thenotch let at the lower end of the bar 13 and will then aid in holdingthe latch in the keeper 17 so that accidental opening of the door willbe prevented;

When the car is to be unloaded, the door 7 is slid so as. to uncover theopening 5 whereupon aportion of the grain will flow from the car and theend of the lever will be accessible through the opening 5 so that it maybe released from the lower end of the bar 13. The grain will also fallaway from the upper portion of'the door to an extent sufficient topermit the lever to be reached and an upward swinging movementimpartedto the lever willthen first withdraw the latch from the keeper 17 andthen swing the door upon its pivotal support into the upright position,shown in Fig. 2, the latch springing into engagement with a keeper 25upon the car near the roof thereof. The end ofthe lever may be easilyreached through the door opening so that it may be caused to engage inthe notch l at what is fiopiesef this patent may be obtained. for

normally the lower end of the bar 13 and release of the door, with theconsequent dropping of the same before the grain is unloaded, will beprevented. A bracket 26 is provided upon the floor of the car to beengaged by the corner of the door so that the door will lie close to theside of the car in its lowered position, and a similar bracket 27 isprovided on the side of the car to receive the edgeof the door when itis raised.

My device is obviously simple in the construction and arrangement of itsparts and may be readily applied to any grain car.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. Thecombination of a latch, an angle lever pivoted at one end to the latch,means to hold the lever in either latching or 1111- latching position, aguide, a pin slidably mounted in the guide and pivoted to the latch, anda spring around the pin between the guide and the latch and tending tohold the latch in latching position.

2. The combination of a brace bar having notches in its ends, a latch, alever pivoted atone end to the latch and adapted to have its free endengaged in either notch in the brace bar, and means acting on the leverand the latch tending to hold the same in latching position.

3. The combination of a lever, a latch pivoted to the lever, a guide, apin slidably fitted in the guide and pivoted to the lever and the latch,a spring coiled around the pin between the latch and the guide, and asupporting ledge immediately below said spring.

i. The'combination of a vertically disposed brace bar, a latch, a leverpivoted at one end to the latch and having its free end arranged toengage and be held by either end of the brace bar, a guide, a pinslidably mounted at one end in said guide and having its opposite endpivoted to the latch, a spring coiled around said pin between the guideand the latch and normally holding the latch in projected position, anda longitudinally extending ledge below the spring between. the guide andthe latch to support the spring at all times.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EDWARD w. onooan. [Ls] five cents each, by addressing the Commissionerof Eatents, Washington, 11. G.

